Strumigenys JTL-002 Longino ms

Dacetini, Myrmicinae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia

John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.

longinoj@evergreen.edu

22 April 1997

worker lateral view

Specimen: Costa Rica, Prov. Puntarenas: Monteverde, 1500m (J. Longino 1972-s). INBIOCRI001283970. Image by J. Longino.

Identification

Apical fork of mandible with one intercalary tooth; mandible with no preapical teeth; gaster smooth and shining; gaster with erect, linear, somewhat stiffened setae.

Head length 0.736mm, mandible length 0.452mm, head width 0.605mm, CI 82, MI 61 (n=1).

Similar species: micretes, ludia.

Range

Costa Rica (mid-elevation Atlantic slope).

worker face view

Specimen: Costa Rica, Prov. Puntarenas: Monteverde, 1500m (J. Longino 1972-s). INBIOCRI001283970. Image by J. Longino.

Natural History

Brown and Wilson (1959) summarize the genus as follows:

"Widespread in tropics and warm temperate areas. Primarily forest-dwelling; some species occur in grassland and arid scrub. ... Nests mostly in soil and rotting wood; a few species live in arboreal plant cavities in tropical rain forest. Foraging hypogaeic to epigaeic-arboreal. Food: most species are collembolan feeders; a few are polyphagous predators or occasionally feed on sugary substances..."

JTL-002 occurs in cloud forest and mid-elevation montane forest down to 300m.

Selected Records

Winkler samples from Braulio Carrillo National Park at 300m, Penas Blancas Valley, and Monteverde (where it is relatively common).

Literature Cited

Brown, W. L., Jr., Wilson, E. O. 1959. The evolution of the dacetine ants. Quarterly Review of Biology 34:278-294.

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